1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to medical diagnostic instruments, and specifically to an eye viewing device for use in retinal viewing.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Commercially available eye viewing devices for use in retinal viewing have been observed to exhibit numerous limitations.
According to an indirect ophthalmoscope design, a beam splitter is provided in the optical viewing path which directs illumination light rays into an eye, and simultaneously allows receive imaging light rays to pass therethrough. The substantial light losses inherent with this design require that a large, high powered light source be incorporated in the device for the device to satisfactorily illuminate a retina. High powered light sources, in general, are difficult to package, consume excessive amounts of electrical input power, and produce large amounts of heat and unwanted light such as glare. High powered light sources also have large filaments, typically larger than the diameter of an undilated pupil. This makes indirect ophthalmoscopes especially susceptible to glare problems attributable to incident light rays being reflected from outer eye structures such as the iris, cornea and sclera.
Cameras for use in retinal viewing, such as fundus cameras, provide high quality imaging. However, retinal viewing cameras, in general, are expensive, typically require pupil dilation for retinal viewing, and typically require operation by a highly skilled and trained camera operator.
There is a need for a compact, lower input power eye viewing device which provides appropriate retinal illumination and which facilitates wide field retinal viewing without requiring pupil dilation.
According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present invention is a low input power, low cost eye viewing device for use in viewing a retina. The device provides wide field retinal viewing without pupil dilation.
In one aspect, an eye viewing device according to the invention includes a converging light illumination system adapted to generate light rays which, when the device is in an operative position, converge at about a pupil of a patient and diverge inside an eye to illuminate a wide retinal field. The converging light illumination system provides illumination of a wide retinal field through a small pupil which may be in an undilated state. The converging light illumination system also reduces electrical input power consumption and reduces glare, as substantially all light delivered by the illumination system enters an eye through a patient""s pupil without being reflected from an eye structure outside of a pupil opening such as the iris and sclera.
In another aspect, an eye viewing device of the invention includes a viewing system having an aperture stop positioned substantially conjugate to a patient""s pupil and substantially coaxial with an imaging axis of the viewing system. An aperture stop positioned substantially conjugate to a patient""s pupil and substantially coaxial with an imaging axis operates to admit light that forms a retinal image and to block light that does not form the retinal image. The aperture stop operates to block unwanted light both when the device is positioned forward of an operative position and when the device is in an operative position. The aperture stop thereby reduces glare and improves image quality both during entry of the device into an eye (when the device is being maneuvered into an operative position) and during retinal viewing (when the device is in an operative position).
The eye viewing device is made especially well suited for retinal viewing through an undilated eye by sizing the aperture of the aperture stop in accordance with the diameter of a pupil of an undilated eye. By sizing the aperture in accordance with the diameter of an undilated pupil, the aperture stop operates to block substantially all light reflected from eye structures outside the diameter of a pupil (such as the iris and sclera).
These and other features of the invention will become clear to those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments in connection with the referenced drawings.